True Love Brings Out the Best
by True Rarity
Summary: There familial love, there's the love of friendship, and then there's romantic love - the kind of true love Anna always dreamed of. Four months after the Great Thaw - and the betrayal - Anna's not sure how to take her relationship with Kristoff further. Follow Anna and Kristoff as they follow the path of love and share both joys and tears.


**True Love Brings Out the Best**

**Chapter One - Rekindled**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen or any of its characters. If I did, the movie would probably be pathetic._

The wind howled as it beat against the windowpanes. Snow swirled around in the air furiously, frosting the glass and working to cover the entire kingdom of Arendelle in a blank white drift.

Princess Anna shivered as she poked at the barely living embers in the study fireplace. She didn't like blizzards much at all, especially since she'd been caught in one with a frozen heart four and a half months before.

Her chest throbbed with a chilly pain in memory of the accident. Anna placed a numb hand over her heart in an attempt to calm it down.

That was different. That blizzard had been caused by the pent-up stress and panic of Queen Elsa. It was a storm that could only be stopped by the power of love. This blizzard, however, was perfectly natural, caused only be the weather patterns of Arendelle, and unlike the first chill, these temperatures could be counteracted with a fire.

That is, if Anna could ever get it going.

Gritting her teeth, the princess closed her numb fingers tighter around the cold iron stick and poked more ferociously at the dimly glowing ashes. One or two sparks went flying, but for whatever reason, the fire refused to grow. Anna was doing something wrong; she knew that for sure.

When she was little, Elsa would always close the drapes against whatever weather was scaring her little sister. They'd ask a servant to build a fire and drag chairs into the study to hang blankets over them as a fort. But once Elsa moved out and didn't come back into the open for thirteen years, blizzards became some of the coldest memories of Anna's childhood.

Now, Elsa was too busy with whatever queenly stuff she had to do. Servants were cleaning and working on supper. Anna had decided not to bother any of them, so she'd retreated to the study for a warm fire.

So much for that idea. Groaning, Anna gave up on the fire, throwing down the stick to see if it would make her feel better. It didn't.

She sighed and stood up, pulling her cloak closer around her. She cast a blank look at the sofa, which stood invitingly about three feet away. At least she could snuggle up with her cloak there.

Cheering up a little, Anna ran over to the couch and flopped onto it, pulling her cloak closer around her. She kicked off her slippers and shoved them off the edge of the plush sofa, sighing as she waited for the warmth to welcome her.

But it never did. The winds beat against the window, taunting Anna with its cold wail. She shivered again, and her heart once again throbbed. It was as though the old wound made her more vulnerable to the cold.

Anna opened her eyes angrily and glared at whatever was in front of her - the fireplace, which was taunting her with its rapidly dying embers. She sighed. _I didn't even want to build a fire. So there!_ Ignoring her flawed logic, the princess squeezed her eyes shut again.

The longer Anna spent on the couch, the colder she seemed. And the "flashbacks" didn't help much, either. Each time her heart flared with the cold pain, she'd remember part of the day her heart was frozen - Elsa freezing her heart; crawling across the floor, rattling the doors of this very room.

Suddenly Anna felt icy wind on her face, and she felt like the window had suddenly blown open the same way it had that fateful day. She opened her eyes and gasped to find that the window had indeed suddenly opened.

Shuddering, she made her way over to the window, pressing her chilled fingers against the freezing glass and pushing it shut. Anna locked it securely and shut the drapes. What was with this window?

Anna turned around and sighed, casting a tired look across the room to the sofa. She didn't want to have to walk the entire six feet over there, so she simply pulled at her cloak again and sank to the floor, her back to the window seat. She shivered again. The chill was nothing like that of the Freeze, but her teeth still chattered slightly. Why did winter have to be so... Cold?

After several minutes of trembling and huddling, there came an awkward knock at her door.

"C-come in."

And in the visitor came, who turned out to be a bored-looking Kristoff. "Hey, Anna. Sven's sleeping and the servants said I'd find you here so I..." He trailed off, blinking in the dim light. "Uh... Where are you?"

"Over here," came the soft reply.

At her tone of voice, Kristoff half expected to see a white-haired, half-frozen princess curled up on the floor, but he instead found his Anna in all her strawberry blond glory sitting against the wall. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, walking over to her.

"I'm fine. I just don't like b-b-blizzards so I tried to build a fire but it didn't work so I-"

Kristoff glanced at the fireplace. "Well, of course it didn't work. You hardly have any wood," he pointed out.

"Well, there _were _embers in the-"

"Stay here. I'll get you some wood from the kitchen," Kristoff offered, turning to go.

"Oh, you don't have to do that; I-"

"Relax," Kristoff interrupted again. "I'm an ice harvester. I've been through plenty of storms like this. If there's anyone who knows how to build a fire, it's me."

"Really, I'll b-be fine, I just-"

But Kristoff was already gone.

Anna sighed and shook her head, but she couldn't help smiling a little. She actually felt warmer already.

In a few minutes, Kristoff returned with the wood. He dropped the lumber next to the fireplace and walked over to Anna. Before she could ask what he was doing, he scooped her up and eased her gently onto the sofa. Then he set to work on the fire.

Anna watched him in silence. Four months ago, she'd been in the exact same spot, watching as Hans put out the fire in the exact same fireplace - and here Kristoff was, rekindling the flame in the very same room where Anna had thought she was going to die.

Finally, the fire blazed cheerfully. Kristoff stood up. "Wait here and I'll get some hot chocolate."

Anna smiled. "You know, we have servants to do that. Well, I know you aren't used to that, but now that you technically live here I just thought you might like to-"

Kristoff hushed her with a smile. "It's okay. I'd rather do this for you."

As he left, Anna pondered the last few words he'd just uttered.

_I'd rather do this for you._

For you.

By the time the mountain man had returned, carefully handling a tray with two steaming cups, Anna was feeling much more chipper. She accepted the hot drink with a smile on her face and a cheerful "Thank you!"

Kristoff returned the smile and plopped down beside her on the couch. The two sat in contentment for a few minutes, listening to the crackle of the fire, lost in thought.

Anna stared into the fire, absently tapping her fingertips against the warm mug. Here she was again, in the same room where she nearly froze to death, the wind beating against the window and the fire crackling. She could almost believe that this was the very same storm that was caused out of Elsa's distress instead of natural causes. But here, the difference was in the man who kept her company during that storm. Before, Anna had been with a prince, the prince of her dreams, who turned out to be a nightmare. But now she was with an ice harvester, one who seemed tough and tasteless on the outside, but turned out to be the sweetest, most generous man she'd ever met.

And at this very moment, Anna wasn't sure what to do. She often felt awkward, but this was one of those times when things felt really, _really_ awkward.

In the four months since the Great Thaw, Anna's relationship with Kristoff had progressed… rather slowly. They were still as friendly as before, but when things got more deep and, for lack of a better word, _romantic_, things mostly just boiled down to awkward. Kristoff had never courted a woman before, and Anna wasn't really sure what to think. She knew she had feelings for this man, but she wasn't sure if the feelings were real or if she was desperate for another love, so soon after the betrayal of Hans.

But despite all her doubts and cautions, Anna couldn't shake the warm feeling she got when she remembered how Kristoff had given her her first _real_ kiss.

A kiss Hans chose not to give.

Anna glanced at Kristoff. He was sitting awkwardly and examining his cup as if he wasn't sure quite how to sip it. She knew that he was having problems getting accustomed to life in a castle. _He must think there's some proper way to sip cocoa,_ she thought with a smile. _Time to rid him of his insecurities._

Scooting closer to Kristoff, Anna pulled her legs up onto the narrow sofa and crossed them, the warm fluid in her cup coming dangerously close to spilling. Kristoff looked at her, confused. "What are you-"

Before he could finish his thought, Anna promptly lifted the cup to her lips and took a deep sip, carelessly slurping the sweet drink in a most unladylike manner. When she lowered the cup, there was a frothy mustache displayed across her top lip. Then she grinned cheekily at the ice harvester beside her.

The look she gave him was so adorably ridiculous that Kristoff had to laugh. He swiftly brought the mug to his face and slurped in the delicacy, easily draining half the cup. The result was a mustache identical to Anna's.

Anna giggled and tried to take another sip of her drink. As she tilted the cup, she peeked at Kristoff from the corner of her eye.

It was a bad idea. The princess snorted, causing a small amount of hot chocolate to dribble onto the front of her dress. Fortunately for her, neither of them cared about dresses, and they shared a good laugh.

Once they calmed down, Anna desperately wanted to start a conversation, but she wasn't sure where to start. As usual in these situations, her thoughts turned to the weather. "Some storm, huh?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the princess knew it was a stupid thing to say. She winced. "Sorry, that was lame."

Kristoff chuckled, tilting his mug and watching the chocolate inside it swirl around. Anna was too perfect, even if she didn't think so. "No, no, it's okay. Yeah, I haven't seen a storm this big since…"

He trailed off, but they both knew what day he was talking about.

Anna's mind immediately went back to the room and the events that had taken place months earlier. She shook her head, trying to shake the memory of Hans's smugly triumphant face. But, as usual, she spoke before thinking. "Deja vu, am I right?"

Kristoff shrugged. "A little. But we were both out on the fjord that day. And here we're nice and warm… Neither of us are freezing to death."

Anna pursed her lips.

Kristoff glanced at her and instantly regretted what he'd said. "Ooh, sorry! That's not what I meant… I mean, I didn't mean to say… those specific things…"

Before he could say anything else, Anna suddenly blurted, "It was here."

Kristoff blinked. "What?"

"It was here… that he betrayed me." Anna said slowly. "I was sitting on this very couch when I thought he would… save me." She swallowed uncomfortably. "If Olaf hadn't found me…"

Kristoff felt a sharp pain in his heart, not wanting to think about what might have happened. Anna had avoided saying the prince's name, but he knew right away who she was talking about. He cringed. "I gave you bad memories, didn't I? We can move to a different room if you want…" He started to get up.

Anna put a hand on his arm. "No, it's fine," she insisted quickly. "I… I actually needed this."

"Come again?"

"When he… You know…" Anna began, "he put out the fire. He took that pitcher," she pointed at the pitcher by the sofa, "and he poured it onto the fire. But you… rebuilt the fire. I mean, not the same fire, obviously, but it just… made me think that someone would take care of me after all."

They both fell silent. Kristoff could only sit and think about the pain she had to go through, while Anna was thinking about how everyone who actually _had_ taken care of her, who had actually loved her… was taken from her. First Elsa, then her parents, and finally, her knight who used his shining armor for all the wrong reasons.

The wind slammed against the window again, and Anna shivered. Kristoff looked at her. "Are you cold?"

Anna hesitated. "A… a little."

The last time Kristoff had heard her respond like that, he'd almost put his arm around her, but had decided that it was the wrong thing to do. Now, Kristoff could only think that it was right. He set down his mug, wrapped his arm around Anna and held her close.

Anna didn't protest at all. She instead sighed and practically melted under his embrace. Then she did something she never thought she would do. She circled her arms around him and buried her face in her chest.

It was an action that almost surprised Kristoff more than it surprised her.

Almost.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

**Author's Note:**

_Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!_

_See, I didn't forget again!_

_Okay, so you're probably thinking, "But Raaaaarityyyyy, you promised us a SoarinDash fic! We don't want ANOTHER Frozen fan fiction!"_

_Well, yes, I did promise that, and it's still coming. Just not right this very second. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to play that whole thing through._

_But here, I got beat over the head with inspiration, and I'm going to use it. I just hope I can update enough that you guys don't lose all hope!_

_I love you LOTS!_

_~True Rarity_


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